Let-off mechanism for looms



(No Model.)

L. WILMOTT.

LET-OFF MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

Patented July 13, 1886.

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UNITED STATES PATE T. OFFICE.

LOUIS WVlLMOTT, OF NEW BEDFORD, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE DRAPER &SONS, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS.

LET-OFF MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 345,468, dated July 13,1886.

Applicatlon filed July 11, 1885. Serial No. 171,348. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LoUIs WILMOTT, of New Bedford, county of Bristol,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in This inventionconsists, essentially, in the" combination, with the loom-frame, theletoff beam, and the toothed gear thereon, of a bracket, a shaft in thesaid bracket carrying a pinion and a friction-drum, and a secondbracket, a strap-attaching device, a frictionstrap, and a strapholdinglever, the strap being extended about the drum, and acting as a frictiondevice to retard the rotation of the said shaft and of the 1et-oif beam.

Figure 1 represents in section a sufficient portion of a loom-frame toillustrate the invention to be herein claimed, the toothed gear of thelet-off beam being partially broken out to show parts behind it. Fig. 2is a righthand end view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, on a large scale, showsseparately or detached from the loom-frame the devices comprising myfriction apparatus, and which are to be applied to looms of kindsalready made, or looms having a toothed gear on the let-off beam. Fig.4. is a left-hand end view of Fig. 3, the dotted lines showing the leverdrawn forward and dropped to slacken the friction-strap; and Fig. 5shows the lever detached.

The loom-frame A, let-off beam A, toothed gear A fast thereon, and theroll A are and may be of any usual construction.

It is a great desideratum in looms to hold the let-off beam by afriction device which shall permit its rotation only so far as it ispositively pulled by the warp from the takeup end of the loom. To effectthis I have provided a bracket, 13, which is attached to the usual crossbeam or tie, B, by a bolt, 13*, the slot 13 permitting it to be adjustedvertically into proper position. The bracket B receives a shaft, 0,provided with a pinion, C, and a frictiondrum, O and about the latter iswrapped one or more times the friction-strap D. One end of strap D isconnected with the looped end or head of a strap-attaching device 5c(shown as a bolt, D) extended through a hole in a second bracket, Dsecuredyas herein shown, to the inner part of the loom side by a bolt,D, the bolt D being thereafter surrounded by a spiral spring, D, andabove the spring the bolt is provided with a nut, D by which to governthe effective strength of said spring. The opposite end of thefrictionstrap D is operatively joined, as herein shown, by hook or loopa, made as a spring-hook, with the strapholding lever E, (shownseparately in Fig. 5,) it having two lugs, a a, and a dog, a the twolugs entering the loops or eyes a", so as to permit the lugs to he slidand to turn in the said loops as the lever is moved from 6 its full intoits dotted line position, Fig. 4, it being drawn forward and dropped, asshown in dotted lines, whenever it is desired to relieve the drum fromfriction as, for instance, when it is desired to rotate the let-off beamby hand for any considerable distance. When the lever E is in itsfull-line position, the strap is operative to produce friction, and atsuch time the dog a enters the notch b and the shoulder a meets thefront end of thebracket, 7 5 as shown best in Fig. 4; but to relieve thestrap it is only necessary to turn the lever E far enough to remove thedog from the notch 72, and then pull the lever forward until the lugs apass along in the loops to the edge of the bracket, when the lever willdrop, as in dotted lines, Fig. 4.. The said lever when pulled outrelieves the frictionof the strap on the drum.

I claim- 1. The loom-frame, the let-off beam and toothed wheel thereon,the bracket B, shaft borne in said bracket, and the pinion and Yfriction-drum on said shaft, combined with a bracket, D astrap-attaching device, a lever, 0 E,1oosely connected to said bracket Dby a slip-joint constructed, substantially as shown, so as to be alignedwith said bracket and rigidly engaged therewith, and also adapted by alongitudinal movement to be disengaged and swung loosely therefrom,,anda frictionstrap extending from the strap-attaching device, thence aboutthe friction-drum, and to the lever, substantially as described.

2. The bracket D", provided with the loops 5 or eyes, and the leverhaving the lugs and dog, the bolt, and the spring to support it,XVitnesses:

combined with the friction-strap, drum, shaft, Tues. J. Conn,

and bracket, substantially as described. DANIEL II. BUTLER.

In testimony whereof I have si ned my name to this specification in thepresence of I a two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS XVILHOT'I.

